Season Preview: Washington Wizards

So, after my monstrous tirade on how Al Harrington keeps the Warriors from improving via trade, I considered going into various rants about what could make teams better, here and there, but then I realized I'd just be whining about how Lamar Odom has a fat contract, how Shawn Marion is a headcase, how there are no good players available on the market, etc.. So I decided, that for now, we'll go back to our look into the upcoming 2008-2009 season.

Washington Wizards

Starting 5:
PG- Gilbert Arenas
SG- DeShawn Stevenson
SF- Caron Butler
PF- Antawn Jamison
C- Brendan Haywood

Off the bench
Guards: Antonio Daniels, Juan Dixon, Dee Brown
Forwards: Andray Blatche, Nick Young, Darius Songaila
Centers: Etan Thomas, JaVale McGee, Oleksiy Pecherov

I've always liked how this team looks on paper, of course, it's looked the same for at least the past 2 or 3 seasons, the only difference being namely shifting of Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood in and out of the starting 5. The team so far has struggled to look good beyond "on paper", becoming one of those perennial first round exit teams. For at least the past two seasons I can point to the issue of injury, the Big 3; Arenas, Butler, and Jamison, have consistently failed to be on the floor at the same time, especially during playoffs. If it's not Gilbert Arenas's knee, then it's some injury to Caron Butler's back or Antawn Jamison's foot or something. It's always as soon as one of them gets back too, funny how that works out.

I was almost tempted to put Antonio Daniels in as the starter, in light of the announcement that Gilbert Arenas is getting another operation on his knee and will be out at least 3 months. All Wizards fans have their fingers crossed that Agent Zero will make it back in time to help carry the Wizards into and through the playoffs. That aside, I like the overall look of this team, I think Caron Butler ranks among the top 5 small forwards in the league, proven to be a dynamic scorer and has an amazing overall game, and really emerged as the true star of the Wizards. Jamison's game has improved greatly as well, contributing nightly a 20-10 line. His ability to not only rebound, but spread the floor with his range adds a lot to the game.

There are 3 other pleasant surprises from last season; Andray Blatche, Nick Young, and Brendan Haywood. We'll start with Haywood. With Etan Thomas out the season undergoing heart surgery, Haywood really stepped up into the starting role. He had a fair share of double-double nights and gets his fair share of blocks, putting up very solid numbers for a league short on big men. When Haywood suffered injury midway through the season Andray Blatche emerged as a key player, and competed with Haywood through the rest of the season for playing time. Nick Young has also developed into a solid reserve as well. The key to this team relies again on the Big 3 being healthy though.

Health issues aside, they're easly into the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. I predict a 46-48 win season, and probably another first round exit. After the past couple of seasons, I really think this team needs to change the look of things before they go any further.